Clark stretched out on the couch, tossing a ball up towards the ceiling of the loft. The night was quiet and peaceful—a stark contrast to the storm that was raging inside him. All the walking he had done this morning had given him much needed time to think, and he had come to the realization that he was indeed, losing himself.

He heard Chloe's voice in his head.

"Relationships are about give and take, right?"

Clark agreed. But while he was doing all the giving—

Lana was doing all the taking.

He was angry for not standing up for himself. For not telling Lana that his powers were a huge part of who he was—a part he was not willing to deny or change for anyone.

The ball fell back down and he caught it with one hand. He threw it back up a little too hard and it crashed through the roof, sailing out of sight into the darkness. It had been the first time he had used his powers—however unintentionally—all day and it made him smile.

"Looks like someone needs to practice a little control." Clark heard Lana's voice and propped himself up. She was standing at the top of the stairs, clutching the railing. "I think we need to talk about the other day." She said and walked over to him, taking a seat next to him on the couch. She placed a hand on his knee and Clark sat up to meet her.

"I do too." Clark agreed, and for a moment he had a fleeting hope that somehow she had had a change of heart about everything.

"I wanted to know if you've made your decision about the Ledger?"

Obviously she hadn't.

"Lana, I have thought about it and—"

Sensing what he was about to say Lana's eyes grew dark and she promptly cut him off. "So it's a no then? You've decided to stay at The Planet?"

Clark didn't have to answer, his eyes said it all.

Lana's mouth twisted into a frown and she slumped back into the couch cushions. She sat there for a minute in silence before she turned to him and grabbed his hand. " Clark, I know you would miss Metropolis, but they sell The Daily Planet here. They even sell Shark dogs now in the grocery stores—I know how much you like them." She smiled and Clark knew what she was trying to do. "You can still have a piece of Metropolis right here in Smallville."

Once again Lana had turned on the sweetness, but it was clear she was missing the point. "Lana, this has nothing to do with missing Metropolis. Sure, if I left the Daily Planet I would miss it—but that's not the reason I don't want to work at the Ledger."

"Then what is it?" She said coldly, her smile disappearing. "The Ledger is a respectable paper even if some people only think highly of the Planet. Besides, after our argument I thought you understood what I wanted, a normal life together here in Smallville. We've waited so long to be together—do you really want to throw our relationship away?"

Clark resisted the urge to immediately agree—something he had been doing lately despite his true feelings. Instead he spoke calmly, firmly, and from the heart. "Of course I don't. But you have to understand that I'll never be normal. And any life we have together would never be normal. No matter what I'm always going to use my powers. They are who I am."

"Yes, but Smallville is safer for us."

"Do you really believe that?" Clark argued; he wasn't buying it anymore. He may have believed it in the beginning, but now he knew the situation was less about safety, and more about control. "There's no place that's completely safe. And if you truly cared for me, you'd be willing to take the risk anyways."

Lana opened her mouth but had no reply.

"Point is, I wasn't being honest to you or to myself about all of this—but I'm being honest now." Clark felt Lana's hand drop from his. " I tried, but I realized I am not willing to change who I am for anything or anyone."

Lana could sense she was losing the battle. " Clark, I am only trying to protect you and our relationship. I love you." She looked back at him expectantly, waiting for him to melt into her arms like he had always done before. She put her hand on his cheek, letting it rest there and she stared into his eyes.

Something about the situation felt so strange, almost manipulative that Clark had to resist the urge to pull away.

Suddenly a loud ringing cut through the tension and Clark looked down to see his cell phone vibrating across the top of the coffee table. Lana reached for it. "It's Chloe," She grumbled, tossing it aside. Clark made a move for it, but she blocked his hand. " Clark, I think we need to finish this."

"I said what I had to say." He stated firmly; there was no point in arguing any further, nothing would change his mind. "If you can deal with it then we might be okay. If you can't, then—" The phone rang a few more times; Clark had an overwhelming feeling it was important and that he needed to answer.

"Then what?"

"Then this isn't going to work." Clark finally reached for the phone, it's ringing ceased. Lana shook her head, tossing her hands up into the air. She stood up, throwing one last scathing look over her shoulder before she stormed back down the stairs.

Clark heard Lana's car screech away as he put his phone to his ear, calling his voicemail. He heard Chloe's voice as she spoke urgently. " Clark, I don't know where you are. But you were right—the source called back. I think he's in trouble and I'm on my way to Belle Reeve."

Finally free of the hesitation that had plagued him earlier, Clark dropped the phone and he was gone in a blur.